We Can Learn to Love Again
by st.elmo-lover
Summary: Prequel to Take Cover. Robby Simms takes on the ups and downs of Pogue Parry. It's Kate vs. Robby and it's going to get ugly.


**Warning: Smut ahead. It's rated M for a reason.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pogue or any of the Covenant members. I do, however, own Robby.**

Robby dropped her keys on his table before letting out the breath she had been holding. Her lungs burned with the effort and she welcomed the feeling. She needed something to ground her. She couldn't quite explain how she had ended up there or at what point she had finally decided to use the key to his apartment. But she was there, standing in his cold, unlit apartment. She wondered how long it had been since he had been here. She was sure it had been awhile. His apartment had dropped to at least 60 degrees. It offered little comfort from the cold, biting wind outside. He obviously turned the heat off when he knew he wasn't going to be around.

She knew he had been spending most of his time at the dorms with Reid and her twin. He was once again on-again-off-again with Kate Tunney. Their relationship could only be described as a yo-yo of emotion. She had watched Pogue over the last few months. She had watched him spiral from happy and completely content to a jealous rage that seemed to consume him.

He had only turned seventeen a few months ago and the rate he was going he would only make a year or so past his eighteenth and his Ascension. She shuddered at the thought. If only he could see the poison that was Kate Tunney taking his life like away like a tornado. Like she could see it.

She had gotten better at hiding her jealousy over the last few months. The only people who had really noticed her downward spiral were Aaron and Tyler, Aaron only because she spent most of her time with him instead of around her brother and the other Sons. She couldn't stand to be around the Sons and watch Kate hang all over Pogue.

She couldn't stand to see Kate kiss the guy she wanted for herself.

It was so unfair, she thought, that now that she was growing into her own and the Sons were starting to realize she was no longer a child but a young woman, that Pogue had gotten swept in Kate. She had finally become optimistic about her chances with him the same month Kate had drawn his attention.

As their relationship had increased in intensity, Robby had made herself scarce, only hanging out with her brother when the other Sons were around and spending the rest of her time with her best friend shooting pool.

That's exactly where she had been, shooting pool with her best friend. Aaron never failed to take her mind off of the bad things in her life or even just the little things that got her down. Tonight hadn't been the case. It had started off well, all smiles and laughs and practical jokes, but two hours after Aaron and Robby had settled into a steady pattern of fun, the Sons had shown up. And Kate was permanently attached to Pogue's arm. It hadn't helped that they had all come over to great, including Pogue, and Kate had smiled her fake smile and greeted her with fake enthusiasm. After their arrival the night had gone down hill.

Watching Kate literally hang on Pogue's arm and then throw herself into his lap, had made her stomach turn with disdain. And then she was forced to watch, from her own table with Aaron in the corner, as Kate coaxed Pogue onto the dance floor with a display of sex with clothes on. Aaron had begged her to stay and pointed out that by leaving she was only giving up. His words had fallen on death ears. After a few months of watching their hot and cold displays, this was one night she couldn't handle it.

The irony of ending up in his apartment wasn't lost on her. She hadn't exactly been thinking as her hands pointed her Camaro in the direction of his apartment. And it was only now that she was shivering in his third floor flat that she let out a humorless laugh. She was pathetic even to herself. Was she really that desperate to be close to him that she ended up in his empty apartment that he probably hadn't been in since he met Kate?

It appeared so.

She took in another long deep breath and let it out as she wrapped her arms around herself and made her way over to the thermostat in the corner. She kicked the air on and turned it up to 80. Hopefully the place wouldn't take long to heat up but for now she kept her coat on as she made her way over to the windows that looked over the parking lot. The wind was howling full force and had finally been joined by the freezing rain the weatherman had predicted. She shuddered at the thought of being outside and thanked her lucky stars she had made it someplace before the bad weather had started.

She doubted this was what Pogue had meant for her to do when he had handed over the extra key to his apartment. In fact, she remembered the exact reason he had given her the key. The memory would always stand out in her mind, she was sure. It had been at the beginning of term when she had finally moved into her dorm. Her roommate had been random and after one week of living with her, Robby had found out her roommate was rather promiscuous. And her roommate had no problem with showing it with various boys she brought back to their room.

Pogue had graciously handed the key over after another long day of Robby complaining about the lack of sleep.

She laughed out loud again at the thought and then grimaced when the sound of it bounced off the walls of the empty apartment.

She rubbed her arms as her feet carried her into the kitchen area. It was small and modest and very clean. She knew Pogue didn't know how to cook to save his life and was surprised that more empty pizza boxes and take out bags didn't litter the apartment. Maybe he had changed his cleaning habits in the last few months.

She casually moved the refrigerator, her ballet flats making tiny patters against the tiled floor. She smiled at the picture of the five of them taped to the fridge. She couldn't make out their expression in the dark, but she was sure they were all smiling at the camera.

She yanked on the door and bent down, her eyes quickly scanning the shelves for anything that looked edible. She came up empty besides the loan Miller Light that was sitting on the second shelf. She reached a hand out to snatch it when a gravely voice from behind her startled.

"You're in my apartment, in the dark, going through my fridge. If I didn't know any better I would think you're a robber." His voice was filled with a hint of laughter but still held its usual undertones of indifference.

The sound of it made her shiver and she hoped, as she turned around, that if he saw it he would pass it off as the temperature of his apartment. The door of the fridge swung closed behind her and she wrapped her arms around herself again. It was a good thing she hadn't turned the lights on because she was blushing fifty shades of red.

"I'm sorry," she said lowly. Her voice was a little louder than a whisper. "You've been spending most of your time at the dorms lately so I didn't think you would mind if I crashed…" she trailed off and turned her gaze towards the floor, scuffing her flat on the floor.

"Aaron do something to upset you?" He was still standing in front of the closed door, his lather jacket still firmly in place on his broad, muscular shoulders. "You sure did high tail it out of Nicky's pretty fast."

Her blush deepened. The thought of him watching her quick exit had her stomach doing flip-flops but she tried to brush it off.

"No," she tried to make her voice a little louder but barely succeeded. "I just really couldn't stand to be there anymore. I needed some alone time." She turned her gaze to window to avoid staring at him through the dark.

"You're lucky you made it somewhere before the rain hit. I had to leave my bike at Nicky's."

He moved for the first time and her head snapped over to follow his movements. He was sliding his leather jacket down his arms to reveal the same black t-shirt he had been sporting at the bar. His steps were large and deliberate as he made his way towards the kitchen and stopped at the small dining table with two chairs. He swung his coat on the back of one and then rain a hand through is long, brown hair.

She found herself wishing she could be his hand and felt her blush rise again.

"You can crash here. I don't think you need to be going anywhere in this weather…" His voice trailed off as his gaze moved out the window. He was silent for a few moments, almost contemplative, before speaking again. "I'll get you some stuff to sleep in. I'm probably just gonna crash."

She nodded, not really caring if he could see the movement in the dark. She couldn't help but think the he was going to "crash" because he hadn't been getting much sleep lately. Most of his nights were spent in Kate's room and if not there, then in her brother and Reid's room.

She watched him leave the room before she moved back into the living area to the entrance of the apartment. She swung open the door of the small closet near the front door and stood on toes to reach the extra blanket and pillow he kept there. It wasn't unusual for one of the guys to crash at his place on occasion and he kept the extra sleeping supplies where he knew anyone could find it.

She closed the door with her foot and moved back to the couch as she heard him rustle around in his room. She barely paid attention as she dropped the pillow and blanket on the couch before moving back to the kitchen. She pulled the sleeves of her own leather jacket down her arms and placed it on the chair opposite of Pogue's. She shortly let herself smile inwardly at how good their leather jackets looks hung on the back of the chairs in the same apartment. The thought wasn't worth dwelling on, she told herself.

As her feet carried her back to the kitchen she made quick work of grabbing a glass out of the cabinet and turning on the faucet. She turned the handle cold and propped her hip onto the cabinet, waiting as the water adjusted to the right temperature.

The air behind her seemed to move and the hair on her arms tingled. She jumped, almost losing the grip on the glass in her hand but she managed to regain her clutch on it at the last second.

She probably couldn't have turned around even if she wanted to. Pogue's arms were resting on either side of her on the counter and she could feel the heat of his chest hitting her back in waves. She reached out slowly, as if dreaming, and turned the running water off. Her own breathing was the only thing she could hear.

As Pogue made no movement to move, she took in her situation. He was sober, that much was sure. She couldn't smell any lingering alcohol, only the smell of oil and cologne that went along with Pogue Parry. So if he wasn't drunk, why was he trapping her to his kitchen counter?

The glass finally fell from her grip when suddenly his front pressed closer to her back, trapping her even more. His abdomen seemed pulse against he back and the fabric of his jeans brushed against her now limp hands.

When she felt his warm breath against her neck, she was forced to bit her lip to keep in her moan of pleasure. Somewhere in the back of her mind, her sane self was telling her how pathetic it was that just his breath on her neck could such an intense fire within her. She waited with baited breath as he took in her sent and her hands trembled by her sides. The anticipation of what he was going to do next was killing her and she almost wanted to cry at all of the possibilities.

He moved closer still and she let out a little moan from the pain and pleasure that shot through her as her groin was pressed painfully into the counter in front of her. For a few second she thought she felt his chest rumbling behind her but quickly vanished the thought from her mind, blaming her imagination.

"You looked good tonight," he seemed to growl and this time his chest really did rumble behind her. She shivered as his calloused hands reached up and began to caress her arms, up and then back down again.

The fire in her seemed started to burn full force.

"I-I-I thought you were preoccupied." She wanted to kick her for her stupid stuttering but the idea was quickly forgotten as Pogue's hands stopped caressing her arms to rest on her hips, his fingertips digging in to the tender flesh there.

"I always notice you," he whispered back. His breath moved a few strands of her hair as it fell on her neck.

She shivered again.

She opened her mouth to reply but the words didn't make it past her lips. His left hand slowly moved up to rest on her stomach and with a jerk he had pulled her back flush against his front so not an inch of space existed between them.

"Oh god," she gasped involuntarily as she felt the bulge of him at the small of her bag. Her breathing halted again as his right hand slowly moved from her waist. She watched his hand with wide eyes and he slowly moved it downwards.

She threw her head back into the crook of his neck as he slowly used his fingers to rub her bottom to top through her jeans. Her guttural moan bounced off the walls of the apartment and made it back to her.

Her first moan was quickly followed by a second when without warning his hot mouth had latched onto her neck, her most vulnerable spot. Her hands moved on there own until one was wrapped around her back, trying to clutch him closer and the other was buried in his hair.

He bit down just as his right hand made another pass over her sex and she shuddered in his arms, completely ready to come undone and submit herself fully to him.

"You're so wet. I can feel you through your jeans." As if to emphasize his point, his fingers caressed her again, a little more roughly than the first two times. She found herself gasping for air at the pleasurable sensation, and her nails dug into the flesh of his back.

"Please," she begged, without even thinking about it. She tugged on the hair in her hand and leaned as far back into him as she could as she felt his chuckle reverberate through his chest.

The hand on her stomach slowly moved downwards and she gasped in anticipation only to let out a breath of disappoint as it traveled back up and under her blouse. The feeling of his hand on her bare stomach was a new sensation altogether and her nails bit into his back again. As his finally stopped on her top of her bra she took another breath. It came out as a moan as he hand grabbed her breast roughly then began to rub it soothingly. She arched her back into his touch as he finally pulled the cup of her bra down and began to roll her nipple in his fingers.

His other hand made quick work of the button of her skinny jeans and before she knew he hand slipped his hand inside her jeans and his thumb was caressing her clit. She jerked roughly against his hand and bent forward with a gasp. He quickly jerked her back against him, though, as both of his hands continued their ministrations. His mouth latched on to her neck again and suddenly she feeling three different sensation and once. Her hand curled in his hair and her nails felt like they would pop off from the grip she had on the muscles in his back. They flexed under her skin and when he finally dipped his middle finger inside her she let out a guttural moan that was sure to wake his neighbors if he had any.

Her hips moved on their own, jerking forward to meet every thrust he made with his fingers. His middle pushed in and out while his thumb made circles around her clit and his other hand cupped her breast. Her legs began to shake and she continued to thrust into his hand and she moaned again when he suddenly stopped sucking on her neck.

"Come for me," he growled and she whimpered, her legs shaking even more at the sexy and rough tone of his voice. The speed of his fingers increased and she met them thrust for thrust.

"Come for me," he demanded again and just the low, guttural sound of it drove her closer to the edge.

Another bit to her neck was all it took before her insides were clenching around her fingers and she was screaming profanities into the now warm air of the apartment. He moaned from behind her and she continued to shake in his grip and ride out her high. His fingers slowed until coming to a full stop and he slowed pulled his hand from her jeans and fixed her bra.

She gulped in air as she stood on shaky legs, unhappy as pulled away from her a little. His breathing was just as fast paced as hers and she closed her eyes for a few moments to commit everything to memory.

She gasped and almost fell to her knees when he was suddenly gone from behind her. She opened her mouth to speak but stopped when she heard his heavy footsteps on the tile of the kitchen floor and then a few seconds later the door to his room was slamming shut.

As the tears pricked at her eyes and threatened to spill over she reached down with shaky hand to button her jeans and right her shirt.

She felt dirty. Unclean. Like some trash in the can the can that was starting to smell and needed to be taken out. The tears slipped from her eyes and she shook with either rage or complete shame as she stared down on the counter. There beside the sink was a pair of boxers and a t-shirt. The combo was no doubt supposed to be her pajamas for the night.

She pulled in a hard breath and turned away, back to the table. Her sore legs carried her to the kitchen table where she quickly snatched up her leather jacket. The fabric was cold against her arms as she pulled it on and made her way to the front door.

She snatched up her keys on the way but stopped when her hand rested on the cold metal of the doorknob. She chanced one look back, towards Pogue's door and tried to quiet a sob as she stared at it. After a few seconds she was able to rip her gaze away and turn the knob. A few tears trailed down her cheeks as she turned and slowly let the door click closed behind her.

She wouldn't be there when he woke up.


End file.
